The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is sponsoring a two-day workshop February 11-12, 2014, at the in Bogotá, Columbia, to foster U.S.–Colombian partnerships for state-of-the-art electricity transmission and distribution projects throughout the country in cooperation with Colombia Inteligente (Smart Colombia), an industry coalition established to coordinate the implementation of Smart Grid technology. The event will highlight Colombia's Smart Grid projects and initiatives, U.S. technologies and the regulatory frameworks, standards, and financing mechanisms available to support them. The workshop agenda will also focus on the applicability of demand response programs in Colombia.

Highlights from the workshop include:

Updates on Colombia's Smart Grid initiatives and projects

Discussions of the potential for various forms of demand response in Colombia, particularly for the "non-regulated" market of the largest electricity consumers

Lessons learned and current best practices in the U.S. related to the Smart Grid technologies to address Colombia's power grid challenges including wide area monitoring systems, big data analytics, distribution automation, and microgrids; as well as legal and regulatory frameworks, and financing mechanisms that can support regional projects with a focus on transmission and interconnection capabilities

Networking sessions with senior representatives from the Colombian and U.S. energy sectors